Living Up To A Legend
by Oxyphyr
Summary: Spyro and Cynder have a son, and as anyone who has had a famous or powerful parent knows, living up to their expectations can be pretty difficult.
1. A Son

**A Son**

Spyro lay on his side, chest heaving in and out slowly. His nerves had been on edge ever since Cynder declared her pregnancy to him. It made him happy to know he had chosen a mate so confident and brave that she could just outright tell him something so important. He opened his trembling eyes and saw Cynder's enlarged smooth pink belly supporting his resting chin. The purple dragon smiled with pride and anxiety as his eyes rolled slowly upwards to meet with her's. Cynder, the love of his life, was about to give birth to his son. His heir.

"What should we name him?" He asked, joy filling every word that escaped his lips.

Cynder giggled, "Oh Spyro, how are you so sure that it's a boy?"

Spyro looked back down at her belly and grinned, "Instincts my love."

"Well... How about Spenit?"

Spyro's eyes once again rolled up to meet with her's, "I think that's a wonderful decision. Spenit."

This time, both Spyro and Cynder looked down at her underbelly, "Our little Spenit." Whispered Cynder, smiling the biggest smile she had ever smiled. 

* * *

><p>Five months after his mom had successfully laid his egg and fifteen years after it broke open, Spenit was ready to go to dragon school. He was a strong, well-built dragon, with forest green scales and a bright yellow underbelly that shone like the sun in the light. Dark black spikes trailed down his spine, and his yellow horns curved backwards towards his tail which had a two-pronged hook naturally attached. It wasn't as odd as you'd think for him to be born with such a different color scheme than his parents, since a purple dragon 'is' only born once every ten generations.<p>

The first couple of months were quite unpleasant for the little dragon. He was expected by his teachers and peers to be the kind of heroes his mother and father were. Problem was, he wasn't ready to become a hero yet.

It wasn't until his first graduation that his life started to take a different, much more exciting path.

Spenit was padding along to the selection offices in the heart of the school, utterly exhausted from all the work he put into preparing the graduation party. He saw a couple walk past, tails entwined, and sighed deeply. Entering the selection office, Spenit was greeted by the receptionist, "Hello Spenit, what do you need?"

"I'm here to check up on my registration for the job as a courier?" He said weakly, "Have... Have any results come back yet?"

The blue female receptionist looked at Spenit with pity, "No, I'm sorry Spenit. But I'm sure they'll accept you, I mean, you 'are' Spyro's son after all right?"

The green dragon sighed and turned out the door, "Thanks anyway." He was about halfway to the exit when an orange blur suddenly slammed into him, knocking him flat on his ass, "Hey what the fu- Oh wow..." Spenit's anger quickly faded as he gazed upon the most amazingly beautiful dragoness he had ever seen.

"Oh I'm so sorry, are you okay? I shouldn't have been running that fast, I hope you're okay..." She seemed to have the same opinion of him, as her words slowly faded from her mouth.

It took a few seconds of awkward silence to convince one of them to speak, "Uh, I'm- I'm fine. Are you okay though? You sure hit me pretty hard... Yet you seem to still be standing..." Stumbled Spenit, still unable to get over the haze fogging up his thoughts.

She shook her head, "Huh? Oh, yeah I'm fine. My power is telekinesis you see, so it shielded me from the impact." A short laugh was ended as soon as it began out of nervousness.

Spenit's eyes were having a field day. Her shiny orange scales caught his attention the most, but her most defining feature was probably the deep red in her wings and rouge that colored her perfectly curved horns. Needless to say, Spenit found himself slightly turned on. He hid it with a small shift of his leg placement after standing up, "Well, um... If you're not busy later... Could I maybe treat you to dinner uh..."

She caught on, "Oh, Carrie. My name's Carrie." Carrie smiled warmly.

"Okay Carrie," Spenit shared the cheerful smile, "will you allow me to buy you dinner?"

She nodded, possibly unable to ever stop smiling as long as she was around him or thought of him, "It would be my pleasure."

And so, Carrie and Spenit parted ways, eager for that fateful night that would change Spenit's boring life forever. 

* * *

><p>"Is the prisoner ready for another round of interrogation?" A huge mean looking black dragon asked an unrecognizable figure cloaked in shadows. They both stood on what appeared to be an old altar, created hundreds of years before the beginning of dragons. Anything around the altar was cloaked in darkness since there was only one light, and it hung from chains directly above the ancient place of worship.<p>

The shadowed figure chuckled deeply, then replied in an equally deep voice, "Yes master. His wounds have just finished healing."

"Excellent."


	2. Destiny Says Hello

**Destiny Says Hello**

"Are you sure we should be here?" Asked Carrie, worried because every dragon around her was one of richest in Warfang.

Spenit chuckled and looked at her with a grin, "I'm the son of Spyro remember? I can get in anywhere."

She blushed and nodded, "Sorry."

"S'okay." He smiled and took her by the wing before leading her past the entire line-up and into the large lit up old building. There was a band of moles playing slow dance music, and tables were moved out of the way so that couples could dance. Spenit and Carrie politely pushed past them and headed towards their table on the other side. Once seated, Spenit called over the waiter and asked for the menus.

The waiter was a female cheetah warrior, "Oh hello Spenit! And who is this?" She asked, turning to look at Carrie with a suggestive smile.

"My date of course. What's the matter Chelsea? Jealous?" He joked.

She laughed, "Of course, because I've obviously always wanted to go out with you Spenit. No but seriously, congratulations. Here are the menus, enjoy yourselves!" Then she returned to the bar and disappeared through a door behind it.

"Explanation?" Hinted Carrie, looking straight at Spenit with a confused look on her face.

Spenit chuckled, "Don't worry, she's just an old friend. Used to be my nanny in fact, but Spyro didn't agree with having a cheetah take care of his dragon son, so he got some other loser to do it."

"And who was that?"

"You know the gym teacher at school?"

"That asshole!"

He nodded sadly, "The very one."

"Awww Spenit." She cooed, sliding her chair over so she could be right up next to him, "It must've been horrible!" Then she snuggled him, wrapping a wing over his back while resting her head on his shoulder.

He was shocked, but didn't want to ruin the moment, so he just went with it. "Well it wasn't _that_ bad." Spenit said, trying to act manlier.

She chuckled, "Spenit, don't get full of yourself. I'm only acting this way as an excuse to get closer to you." Then Carrie started to entangle her tail with his.

Spenit couldn't believe that all of this was actually happening, "Are you real?" He joked.

"Of course I am. Do you need more proof though? Cause I can get a _whole_ lot more real."

This little offer made Spenit shiver with excitement, "Well that's an enticing thought."

Carrie grinned widely and was moving in to kiss him when the food arrived, "Hey! No kissing in here! This is a high class establishment y'know." Growled Chelsea as she placed their food on the table. Both Carrie and Spenit looked up at the cheetah in shock and fear, and Chelsea laughed, "I'm kidding you guys, have fun." As she walked away, she quickly gave Spenit a wink and a thumbs up.

He smiled and nodded to her.

"Where were we?" Purred Carrie.

"Hm, let's see." He closed in on her, "Right about here I think."

They kissed. 

* * *

><p>"So I guess this means we're officially dating?" Wondered Spenit as he lay next to Carrie on a grassy hill just outside of Warfang. The sun setting in the distance made it the perfect romantic spot at the moment.<p>

"I guess so." She purred, rubbing her tail slowly against his in a massaging fashion.

He smiled and smoothed his cheek against hers, "You have no idea how long I've been waiting for this moment. Who knew it would happen like this... So, love-at-first-sight like."

She giggled softly, "It did happen pretty fast didn't it." She jokingly pulled away and asked, "Maybe we should take our time?"

He caught her joke immediately, "Nah, let's see just how fast we can go." And started kissing her. Tongues swirling, saliva mixing, talons groping, the two teenage dragons were going at it like the world would end tomorrow. Next thing they knew, Carrie was on top of Spenit and their make-out session just got a whole lot hotter. Finally, just as they were about to get seriously intimate with each other, some one rudely interrupted.

"Spenit! Spenit! There you are! Come quick!" Hollered a royal messenger as he ran up the path leading to their romantic hideaway.

Carrie jumped off her lover and Spenit stood up, "What could be so important that you would dare disturb Spyro's son while he is spending time with his lovely-"

"But that's just it sir!" Once again the messenger interrupted him.

"What's just what?"

"Your father Spyro! He's been murdered!"


	3. On My Own, Mostly

**On My Own, Mostly**

Spyro's funeral was surprisingly short for king of the dragons. His wife, Cynder, stood crying the entire time, mumbling something only the very close could understand. Spenit, Spyro's son, stood in silence. He had nothing but shock running through his brain. Never in his entire life did he think it possible for some one like his father to die. But now that he was gone, Spenit had to take his place. He was going to be king? Him? Impossible, "Let's go Spenit." Sniffled Cynder, turning around to walk away after the eulogy was done, and they had finished lowering the casket.

"Could I stay... Just for a little while longer?"

She smiled as best she could and nodded, "Of course." Then she walked away with the rest of the crowd.

Spenit looked around to make sure no one was around, then lay down beside the gaping hole, "Soon they'll come to fill this hole, and I wont be able to talk to you very personally anymore, so I'll say what I have to say now. Why did you leave me dad? What, are you testing me or something? Is this just another one of your stupid trials to see if I'm ready to take over the kingdom? Cause if it is, you're a crueler asshole than I imagined." The green dragon shook his head and wiped away a tear with his wing, "I'm just a kid. I'm not ready for this. Please dad, come back." He couldn't stand it anymore, Spenit began to bawl his eyes out.

Cynder, apparently not fully trusting her son, had stood in the background and watched this entire scene with interest, "One of your tests? Spyro, were you testing our son? Are you testing him now?" 

* * *

><p>Three days later, Spenit managed the courage to tell his mother about Carrie.<p>

"No, absolutely not! What do you think you're doing! You can't just go gallivanting about with some random female from school! You must be mated to one of royal blood, not some street trash!"

"Listen to yourself Cynder!" This shocked the large black dragoness, since up until that point only Spyro had ever called her by her name, "You were once the queen of darkness! The terror of the skies! Spyro still mated with you. Do you think he cared what status or rank you had! What... Family you came from! Fuck no!"

"Language!"

Spenit snorted, "Y'know what, you aren't my mother anymore. I'm a teenager, I can take care of myself."

Cynder was taken aback to say the least, "Spenit, do you have any idea what kind of stress I'm going through right now?" She tried her best to calm herself and take control of the situation, "Now that your father is gone, I must run this entire kingdom by myself. The Ractiles in the east are threatening war, and the Argyles in the west demand a royal marriage to halt any future confrontations."

"I will never marry an Argyle."

"And you accuse me of class-ism"

Spenit slammed his tail against the marble floor that covered the entirety of their house, "Enough of this! I'm going to go meet with Carrie, and there's nothing you can do to stop me!" The little green dragon, well, little in respect to Cynder, stormed out of the house in a fury. 

* * *

><p>"My mother doesn't think we should see each other anymore..." Spenit muzzled Carrie, his breath slowing like it usually did when he was around her. His heart beating like the war-drums of the Ractiles.<p>

Carrie thought for a bit, "Run away with me then."

"Impossible, where could we run? My mother has agents everywhere. We'd never- Mmpf!"

Spenit was stopped mid-sentence by a massive kiss from Carrie. Her tongue found his, and together they danced around, not staying within one mouth for more then a couple seconds before traveling to the other. When they finally parted, Carrie said, "I love you Spenit, so believe me when I say, they'll never find us."

Spenit was smiling more then he ever had in his entire life. Finally he found some one he could put all of his faith in. She was perfect, "I love you too Carrie."

She immediately kissed him back, planting a paw on the side of his face for extra comfort, "We'll leave tomorrow then. Meet me at the east gate at one in the morning."

"I can't wait." 

* * *

><p>"I'll never tell you anything!" Spat the badly beaten blue dragon.<p>

A dark flowing form slowly coiled itself down to the dragon's level, being more then three times his size, "I'll have you repeating the alphabet backwards while hoping up and down on one foot down a flight of stairs by the time I'm done with you."

The blue dragon gathered blood in his mouth, then propelled it at the dark being in defiance, "Fuck you."

It chuckled, the blood slowing drooling down it's shadowy flank, "Strong willed, I'll give you that. This may take longer then I anticipated." A long, electrified rod appeared from the darkness and moved towards the blue dragon.

"No... no... NO!"


	4. The Runaways

**The Runaways**

Spenit left the house early, not giving himself much sleep, but allowing for no possibility of being late. The only other time he had been this anxious was on his last birthday when his mother had promised him his first dragon-board. He got it all right, but it was way out of style. When Spenit asked why, Cynder just told him it was because it was a hand-me-down from his father. Better then nothing was Spenit's first thought.

When he arrived at the east gate he found the city guard heading in the opposite direction, their shift apparently over for the night. The green dragon let out a huge sigh of relief as they passed over his head. If he had arrived just a couple seconds earlier he might've been caught sneaking out. It was an hour of painful patient waiting for Spenit before Carrie showed up, but to him, it was totally worth it, "Perfectly on time!"

She giggled, "I'm known for my punctuality."

He nodded, then motioned towards the gate with his shoulder, "So, I guess we should get going?"

"I guess so."

"Females first." He teased, stepping out of her way.

Carrie gave him a playful snarl as she padded past. He snarled back.

It was when they were at a safe fifteen miles from the city that they slowed from a slow run to a walk and began talking. The sun was just peeking over the horizon, showering the beautiful green landscape with light. It was a quite a sight to behold, too bad both dragons were so used to it that they didn't appreciate it's magnificence. 

* * *

><p>"M'lady! M'lady wake up!"<p>

Cynder groaned and opened on eyelid, "This had better be important."

"Your son is missing."

She sighed and rolled her eye, "You just had to jinx it, eh Cynder?" The beautiful black dragoness stood up and yawned, "So, what do you suggest I do?"

The guard was caught off guard, "Excuse me your excellency?"

Cynder blew smoke out of her nose, something she did when experiencing irritation, "Just open the door already."

"Yes M'lady." He ran to the door and threw it open, then stood beside it saluting.

She looked him up and down while walking past, "I'm guessing you're new?"

"Yes M'lady, just signed up yesterday." He stopped saluting once she was all the way through the doorway and followed her like an obedient dog.

The dark dragoness sighed, "Figures, tell the new guy to give the queen bad news."

"Oh no they didn't tell me to, I volunteered." He said running up alongside her with a smile.

She looked at him with a scowl, how dare he be happy on her bad day. Then something happened; that goofy-looking smile somehow melted the ice that had frozen around Cydner's heart the day she discovered Spyro was dead. Her scowl slowly turned into a slight smile and she found herself feeling strangely happy for a few seconds. Then she returned to her bad mood, "Well aren't you a goody two shoes. Shut the fuck up and open the meeting room doors."

Even through all her hostility, the guard didn't seem to mind one bit. He just kept on smiling while he shoved the double doors open. Cynder was greeted by the worried looks of hundreds of rich dragons smelling of various flowers and spices, "We heard about Spenit!" Cried one.

"Are you alright your majesty?" Cried another.

Cynder was only becoming more grumpy with every word, "Will you all please shut the hell up and let me get to my throne before you bombard me with your unbearable chatter?" The entire crowd went silent, "Thank you." She slithered up to her seat, and sat down, "Now, who'd like to go first?"

They all stared at her in shock. Cynder lounged in her throne in a way that no proper queen ever should. She was lazy, not tucking her tail in. Rude, wings spread out all the way and left to drape over the back of her chair. And worst of all inappropriate, her legs spread out so everyone in front of her could see her exposed womanhood. She was a wreck, and now everyone knew it. 

* * *

><p>"Pretty nice isn't it?" Beamed Spenit, proud of his discovery.<p>

Carrie smiled as she circled the small grass field Spenit had found while they were taking a break from walking, "Pretty nice? It's absolutely amazing!"

The green dragon felt even prouder, his chest puffing out, "Well, nothing but the best for my love."

She came in close to him and gave him a big wet kiss on the nose, "Well here we are, all alone in a warm grass field. Got any ideas of what we should do?" Her eyelids closed enough to show off a very sly look, and for effect, she grinned, showing off her perfect teeth.

Unfortunately, Spenit didn't catch on, and made a big mistake, "Sure! I'm feeling kinda hungry, you relax while I go hunt."

As he bounded off, Carrie snorted in frustration, "That boy." She shook her head and lay down on her back, exposing her underbelly to the sun.

Spenit was in mid-sprint after a sheep when he suddenly clued in, "Damn it Spenit, you dumb-ass!" He thought to himself, "She was offering to mate and you just let it float over your head like an immature little hatchling." He closed in on the fluffy white creature and sank his teeth into it's neck. He bit hard, releasing his frustration into the kill, "I'll just have to be more observant around her from now on."

Carrie heard his pawsteps and woke up, "Oh, hello Spenit."

She was still on her back, with her bright underbelly reflecting the sun into his eyes, Spenit could barely keep them open. He dropped the sheep a few feet from her, squinting the entire time, "Could you... erm... Roll over or something?"

The dragoness was hurt, "Why? Is there something wrong with-"

"No! There's nothing wrong with it! In fact, it's beautiful! But it's very bright and I can't see with it reflecting light into my eyes." Spenit quickly interrupted. He blushed and looked down, "Sorry."

She got up and walked over to him, "It's okay my love, it was just a little misunderstanding that's all." Then she lifted his head up to look her in the face, "Besides, the way you caught yourself was admirable." He smiled, still blushing. She found it cute and found herself smiling back, "Now lets eat this sheep before it starts to stink."

She got no argument from the starving male. 

* * *

><p>"The performance you gave the court was quite... um... unexpected." Said one of Cynder's head advisers.<p>

She shrugged, "Well what did you expect from a female who, in the course of one week, lost both her mate and her son?"

The two of them were taking a relaxing walk around the royal gardens. Cynder stopped once and a while to tend to a plant or two. The adviser was on edge the entire time, obviously stressed out from the scene his supposed proper matriarch had showed representatives from every corner of the empire. He knew what happened that afternoon would reflect upon diplomacy in the future. The black dragoness didn't give two hairy shits about anything at the moment. She in was experiencing the final stage of grief, acceptance.

"Fetch me the guard sent to me in the morning, I want somebody I can speak openly with for a few hours while I take my bath." Ordered Cynder.

"You can speak openly with me m'lady." Urged the adviser.

She gave him a stern look, "All due respect Rugle, but I just don't feel safe with you around as I take my bath."

The brown dragon snorted, "And you do with some random new recruit that you just met this morning?"

Cynder thought about it for a few seconds, then nodded, "Oddly, yes."

Rugle shook his head in anger and stormed away, "Ridiculous... Acts like a child... Calls herself a queen."

She chuckled and kept on walking. A few minutes later, the guard from the morning appeared, "Well hello again! Sorry, I forgot to get your name."

He saluted, "Private Drane, at your service."

"Well, Drane, soon you'll be more at my service then you probably ever expected, Follow me." She winked at him and turned towards the doors to her private quarters.

Drane was honestly quite confused, seeing as how rude she was towards him in the morning "Yes m'lady." He hurried after her. The muscle-bound male held open her doors for her, and watched as she walked on through. Every inch of her body seemed to be moving in some seductive manner, but it didn't seem to affect Drane as much as it would any ordinary male. In other words, as other dragons would have a 'hard' time standing still, he was like a castrated tom cat in a group of female cats in heat. The next pair of doors he opened for Cynder were the bathroom doors. Inside, was a magnificent pool containing some of the clearest water Drane had ever laid eyes on, "Should I wait outside while you bath m'lady?"

"Of course not. Why do you think I asked for you specifically?" She grinned, slipping into the water.

He shrugged, "Well the other guys said it was because you wanted to punish me for bringing you the bad news in the morning."

She giggled, letting the water seep in under neath her scales, "Don't listen to them, they only know what gets passed around the mess-hall. Let me show you what your queen is really like." The dark dragoness positioned herself in the water so that he got a full view of her underbelly, and all of it's bonuses.

He immediately looked the other way like a proper male would while a female exposed themselves, "I really think I should be going your excellency, I wouldn't want to invade your privacy."

"Oh don't be such a prude." She chuckled, making little whirlpools in the water with her tail, "Get in here already."

Drane's eyes grew wide, but he still looked away, "W-w-with you?"

"Duh."

"But... You're my queen!" He was both shocked and confused.

Cynder grew impatient, "Yes, I am. And I gave you an order. Follow it, or I will have you demoted."

Drane saw his chance, "You can't demote me, I'm just a private, there is no lower rank."

She grinned devilishly, "Oh I'm sorry, I forgot to tell you. I officially promoted you to be my first and only personal guard. Now get the fuck in here already."

He couldn't take it any longer, her looked. She was a sight any dragon would give everything to behold. Beautiful, evil, lovely, radiant, dark, and most of all sexy. Not even some one as polite as him could stand her. He walked, hypnotized, into the water and stood only a dragon arm's length away, "What would you have me do my mistress."

For the first time in a very long time, Cydner was displaying a face of pure sin. She was giving in to her darker side once more, "My paws aren't quite long enough to reach my 'lower areas'. Would you be so kind?" Of course they were, but she needed an excuse and that was the most obvious one.

Drane, still hypnotized, obliged the horny dragoness. He slowly scrubbed around the openings, making sure not to touch them for fear of upsetting his master. She thrummed at the thought though, and only found it more invigorating that he put so much care into his work. Once he was done scrubbing, he looked into her eyes and asked, "What next, m'lady."

"Well now, usually after the washing I'd lick off any water droplets that were left. But my neck just ain't what it used to be."

He got the hint, "Is your excellency suggesting that I pleasure her?"

She grinned in such a manner that her sharp teeth appeared and gave her an almost menacing look, "Now what would give you that idea?"

"But what about Spyro?"

"He's dead. Now, will you assist me, or are you going to keep standing there like a dumbfounded idiot?" She rolled over onto her back so that he wouldn't drown when he began his work.

Drane was stuck between a rock and a hard place. He couldn't make up his mind. The whole reason why he joined the military was so he could be closer to Cydner, but now that he was given the chance to do what he's always dreamed of doing, why did he hesitate? He made up his mind and gave Cynder her answer.

She felt his claws grip her hips as his head locked into place at her groin. She gave out a moan of relief as his slippery tongue disappeared into her wetness, "Oh YES!" She cried, feeling him wriggle around inside of her, "Deeper!" and "Faster!" Were pretty much the only words that came out of her mouth other then the occasional moan of ecstasy as Drane ate-out his queen.

Ever felt shame and pride at the same time? If so, then you know how Drane felt. 

* * *

><p>"Talk god damn you! Talk!" Yelled the dark being, slashing the bloody dragon across the face over and over again with it's blade-tipped tail, "Why wont you talk!" It paused, catching it's breath.<p>

The wounded dragon chuckled and spat out blood, "Maybe because you fucked up my mouth so badly that I can't speak?"

It shook it's head, "I don't know where you got all the strength to resist my beatings, but I respect you for it." It turned around, or at least looked like it did; hard to tell in the dark, and slid away, "I'll be back in the morning."

"What, no kiss goodnight?"

"Fuck you."


	5. Three's A Crowd

**Three's a Crowd**

Carrie was the first one to hear her, a faint call for help, largely muffled by the sounds of the forest. She immediately turned to her friend, "Did you hear that too?"

Spenit gave her a weird look, "Hear what?"

"I swear I just heard something- Wait..." Carrie's ears perked up and her instincts drove her head to face the direction of where the sound came from, "There it goes again!"

Spenit placed a paw on her forehead to check her temperature, "I think you might be hearing things. Maybe it was something you ate?"

Carrie turned back to her male companion and growled, "I am perfectly fine, my ears are probably just better then yours."

"Now just hold on a minute there, there's absolutely nothing wrong with my- Hey! Where are you going?" His eyes grew wide in shock as his mate-to-be took off into the wilderness.

"To find the voice of course! Come along if you like!"

Spenit rolled his eyes and followed reluctantly, "I still think you're hearing things."

"Oh really? Well prepare to have your mind quickly changed." Came Carrie's voice from behind a group of bushes.

He chuckled as he pushed them out of his way and stepped through, "What are the chances of... There being a... Why?... Is she bl- Is she bleeding?" Spenit stood with a look of total astonishment on his face.

"No! Of course not! The red liquid that flows from you when you are slashed along the chest is definitely not blood. Of course it's blood you idiot! Quick, make yourself useful and find something to seal up this hole."

Spenit stood there staring at the wounded dragoness for a few seconds, then clued in and took off. He tried to keep his mind on searching for a plant to use as a bandage, but it kept wandering off and somehow finding it's way to the dragoness. Shaking himself out of it, he said to himself repeatedly, "Carrie. Carrie. Carrie."

Meanwhile, back with the mysterious female, Carrie held one paw tight on the wound while she used the other one to search the rest of the body, "Is this the only place that hurts? Blink once if yes, twice if no." The dragoness blinked twice, "Are you able to show me where else then?" She nodded, then weakly motioned to her left wing. As she was laying on her right side, Carrie found it quite easy to get to the wing and hold it up with her paw. It was practically torn to shreds, there was blood all over the grass where it used to be. Carrie looked at the mysterious female with apologising eyes, "I'm so sorry, I don't think there's anything I can do for your wing. You may never be able to fly again."

The dragoness managed to speak, "That's okay, I never knew how anyways."

This was right before Spenit burst through the bushes he arrived carrying a few very large leaves in his jaws. He put them on the ground next to Carrie and stood back. The whole time, staring at the white beauty that lay bleeding only a few feet away from him, "Is... Is she gonna be okay."

"I don't know Spenit. All we can do is stop the bleeding and hope for the best." She looked up at him and noticed where his eyes were glued. At first she didn't care, but when she saw the wonder and amazement in his eyes, she felt a little jealous, "Hey," She said sternly, catching his attention, "What are you looking at?"

Spenit knew she already knew what he was looking at, and blushed, "Sorry."

Carrie sighed, "It's okay. Just remember who loves you."

He nuzzled her, "I love you too."

She purred.

* * *

><p>"Now," The dark queen said in the brief period she had stopped panting, "That wasn't so bad was it?"<p>

Drane rinsed out his mouth in the bath water, then looked up at his mistress with scornful eyes, "You're cruelty in solid form."

She laughed, then pet him along the top of his head, "I know my dear, I know." She then began to lift her bulk out of the warm sudsy water. The sound of it trickling through her scales and dropping into the bath at any other time, would be a soothing sound to Drane. But at this very moment he couldn't think or concentrate on anything other then the strong scent of female heat enveloping his muzzle, "C'mon then, get out of the water and help dry me off 'Personal guard'." She said this with a wink as she looked the male up and down.

Drane, while in his mind he resented the current situation, couldn't help his instincts. Put simply, his dragon-hood showed in a most brutally obvious way. He blushed and tried to think of things that would make it go away, "So sorry m'lady."

"Please," She grinned devilishly, "Call me Cyn." And at that, the black dragoness slithered her way over to her rather reluctant prey.

"No more, I beg of you. I don't know how much more of this my conscience can take." He struggled viciously at the powerful urge to straddle the massive beauty and unleash hell upon her behind.

Cynder knew of this struggle, and it only excited her even more, "Come come now, you can't really be suggesting that we just waste this wonderful opportunity." She glanced down, then back up, "And what a large opportunity it is!"

Drane managed to keep his body in check.

Cynder was disappointed to say the least. She let out a loud harrumph and stormed out of the room, "What, am I not good enough for you? Is that it?" She yelled from the hall.

The worried dragon slowly shook his head and turned his face to the ground, what a mess he had gotten himself into. What... a... mess... 

* * *

><p>The mysterious white dragoness woke to a bright light shining directly into her eyes, "Ouch!"<p>

"Oh sorry! I didn't think it would actually work." Apologised Spenit, taking the shard of glowing crystal away from her face.

The dragoness smirked, "S'okay." She looked around, then back at the green male, "Hey do you know who that dragoness was?"

Spenit nodded, "Yeah, her name is Carrie. She and I ran are on the run."

"I see. How interesting." She rolled off her back and onto her stomach. Spenit stood back a bit, resisting her beauty with Carrie's image in his mind's eye, "From whom?"

"Huh?"

"Who are you two running from?"

The green male wondered if it was such a good idea to tell a total strange that he was son of a dead king. He decided to lie, but only slightly, "From our parents."

The un-named dragoness laughed, "Oh how classic!"

"Excuse me?"

The dragoness stopped and gave the dragon a weird look, "Don't tell me you've never read a book before?" At Spenit's stunned reaction, she tried again, "A play?" Once again, stunned, "Anything to do with story-telling?"

"He's not exactly the 'fun' type." Carrie sauntered towards them carrying a dead animal in her jaws. After placing it on the ground, she continued, "Doesn't get out much."

Spenit chuckled, "She speaks the truth."

The dragoness rolled her eyes, "That explains a lot."

Carrie laughed, "So, what's your name dragoness?"

"Katie, thanks for saving me Carrie."

Carrie smiled and nodded slightly, "No problem Katie." Then turned to Spenit, "This a good time to say I told you so?"

Both of them laughed as Katie just looked confused.

* * *

><p>Beaten, whipped, electrocuted, burned, drowned, and even stabbed in a few places. The blue dragon still refused to give in. In a short time, the male's defiance would all be very much worth the effort, "Speak!"<p>

"You're scared, aren't you." He chuckled, "They all are just before they give up hope."

The coiled creature hissed in anger as it reached with it's tail to grasp a fork-shaped object from the wall, "I will never... Give up hope." It placed the three sharp tips just beneath the chin of the blue dragon, "If pain won't convince you, we will have to resort to other methods." It dropped the large fork on the ground in front of the dragon and undid his chains. The dragon gasped as it fell to the ground, "Use the fork, feed yourself, and you shall be free." The snake left.

The dragon laughed, "Feed myself with what?"

"Exactly."


	6. Tensions Grow

**Tensions Grow**

Once Katie was able to walk, the three of them got together and planned their next move, "So... If Katie is right, there should be an Argylian village to the north, and mountains to the east," Said Carrie.

"I guess that means we head south?" Asked Spenit.

Carrie nodded, then turned to Katie, "You get a say in this too. Do you want to take the chance that they wont recognise us and visit the Argyles to get that wing fixed?"

Katie looked at her injured wing and thought hard, "One part of me is saying yes, while the other keeps reminding me that it was the Argyles that did this in the first place."

Spenit and Carrie both found themselves horribly intrigued, "How _did_ that happen to your wing?" Asked Carrie.

"It's a long story." Katie broke eye contact and blushed.

Spenit and Carrie looked at each other, then at Katie. Spenit shrugged, "I don't know if you've noticed, but we're not exactly pressed for time."

Katie looked at the ground, obviously thinking, for a minute or two. Then she looked up and said, "You might want to sit down, this'll take a while."

_Katie entered the Argylian town through the north gate. She was on her way to Warfang and needed to rest for a bit before continuing her journey. As she entered the inn, she started to become nervous. Everyone around her was giving her strange looks. Some flirtatious, some angry, "_Maybe I'm interrupting something important? I should hurry and get my room before any of them decide to to more then stare_," She thought, increasing the speed of her paws._

_When she stepped up to the counter, she was met by a burly red dragon. He looked her up and down, the asked, "What'chu want?"_

"_Uhm..." She looked around nervously, "A room, for one."_

_The inn keeper grunted, turned around, and grabbed a key off the wall before turning back to hand it to her, "Second floor, last door on your right."_

"_Thanks." She placed three gems on the counter, then grabbed the key._

_Just as she was placing the first paw on the first step, she heard the inn keeper say, "You may want to lock your door tonight." And shivered._

"It may have been a better idea to just sleep in the woods..._" She thought to herself as she neared the door to her room. Katie fit the key in the door and it swung open easily. Inside, there was one bed, a sink, and a table with a chair. Not exactly what she was expecting, but it would do. She quickly remembered what the inn keeper said and locked her door. Then she walked over to the bed and rested her aching body upon it. Not long after she started to fall asleep, there was a knock at her door. She approached it cautiously, "Who is it?"_

_There was no reply, just the sound of tearing and snapping wood as a huge yellow dragon burst through. Katie obviously screamed, but to no avail. The yellow dragon grabbed her by the throat and hauled her out of the room. The next thing she knew, she was thrown down the stairs and grabbed by a different paw in a different area. She struggled and squirmed, but the dragon holding her was too strong. He lifted her onto his shoulder and carried her outside. From her upside-down viewpoint, Katie could see at least a hundred muscle-bound male dragons standing around her captor, cheering. Then the one holding her spoke, "We have a new contestant everyone!" The crowd roared happily, "This little bitch is going up against, The Amazon!" This made everyone roar even louder._

_Katie had no idea what The Amazon was, or what the hell was going on. All she knew, was that she was knee deep in some of the worst trouble she'd ever been in. There was no telling how this was going to turn out. The beautiful young dragoness felt the male underneath her start walking again. Anything was better then being shown off like a trophy to every male in the town. It wasn't until she was thrown onto the sandy ground that Katie realised just how wrong she was, "C'mon bitch!" Shrieked a high pitch voice from behind her, "Turn around and fight!"_

_Katie slowly turned, more than reluctant to see what was behind her, "Oh no..." Her jaw dropped. Standing before her was the ugliest, smelliest, toughest looking dragoness she'd ever laid eyes on, "You have got to be kidding me."_

"_No one's kidding anyone you little whore!" Shrieked The Amazon, "Now hurry up and get ready to fight!"_

_A red dragon behind Katie nudged her with something sharp, "Hurry up, new blood."_

_Katie shrugged, "Looks like I've got no other choice," She thought, and stepped towards the one they called The Amazon._

"Guess who won?" Rhetorically asked Katie.

"That's horrible!" Cried Carrie.

Spenit nodded with a concerned look on his face, "How'd you wind up in the forest though?"

"The loser is basically abandoned to die in the wild. I was really lucky you two showed up." Katie looked at the ground shyly, then looked up at them with intense gratitude in her eyes.

Carrie surprised Katie by hugging her tightly with her wings. Katie's shocked expression quickly changed into one of pure happiness as she felt the immense comfort and support being offered by this strange orange dragoness. In short, she felt loved, "As long as you stay with us, we'll make sure that never happens to you again."

"Thank you so much," Purred the white dragoness.

Spenit couldn't help but grin as he watched the two females embrace each other. But all good things must come to an end, "We have to get moving. The sun wont wait for anybody, and we've only got today to get to a friendly village," He interrupted.

Carrie and Katie separated, then Katie asked, "Why do we only have a day?"

Carrie answered her with a large amount of fear in her voice, "Something that's taught to every dragon in school, never spend more than one night in the wild. If anything dangerous has found your scent, it will wait till the second time you fall asleep to strike."

"Wait, so you guys went to school? Where are you from exactly?"

Spenit and Carrie looked at each other nervously, then back at Katie. Spenit decided to tell her, "Have you ever heard of Spyro?"

"Well duh! Who hasn't? He's like, the greatest hero this world has ever- Wait... You're not telling me what I think you're telling me, are you?" She took a step forward, squinting at him as if trying to get a better look.

The green male sighed and nodded, "Yep, I'm his son."

"Ah ha!" She cried, her entire body suddenly filling with pride, "I knew it! You look exactly like him, only... Greener!"

Carrie giggled.

"So let me guess, can't live up to the immense amount of fame and awesomeness of your mommy and daddy so you ran away?"

He nodded solemnly, "That pretty much sums it up."

"You have to promise you wont tell anyone we come into contact with, okay? We have no wish to experience Cynder's wrath," Said Carrie.

The excited white dragoness nodded happily, "Of course! No one will know but you guys and me, I promise." The smile on her face was so big Spenit thought it might get stuck that way. Wouldn't that be something, eh?

Once Katie was finished drilling Spenit for information about life in Warfang, the three dragons started off on their quest. Not one of them could even begin to imagine the adventure that awaited them. 

* * *

><p>Cynder threw open the doors to the throne room and stormed in. She looked like hell, and smelled just as bad. Her three advisors, Rugle, Tinara, and Zsaz stood at attention beside her throne. All three of them wrinkled their faces at her smell as she closed in on them, "Dear god m'lady, didn't you take your morning bath?" Asked Rugle, the most bold of the three.<p>

The dark queen threw herself into the throne and laughed maniacally, "A bath? Why on earth would I need to bath, when my mate is dead and no one seems to give a shit about me?"

The three advisors looked at each other, then at her. Rugle once again opened his brown mouth to say yet another thing that the black dragoness didn't want to hear, "M'lady, you need to be in pristine condition at all times. You are the queen of this kingdom you know."

Cynder rolled her massive green eyes, "Blah blah blah blah blah... I don't give a fuck!" She rolled over on her chair and let her tail hang lose, "Go, be advisors somewhere else. You aren't wanted here."

Tinara, a small blue dragoness, surprised Cynder by speaking for the first time in years, "Spyro must be turning in his grave."

As the three dragons left, Cynder stepped off her throne and laid down facing out the nearby window. Her thoughts were on her lost beloved purple dragon. The darkness swirling around her slowly started to fade, leaving behind a sad, pitiful, broken version of the once strong and proud terror of the skies, "I just want things to go back to the way they were."

Then she started to cry. 

* * *

><p>The darkness. The screams. The pain. The blue dragon felt nothing but the former. And it pissed off his torturer like a fat kid surrounded by plastic food. What on earth could you do to some one who felt nothing, to get information out of them? Torture is all about feelings, and the blue dragon had none. He was the perfect soldier, numb, strong, and violent.<p>

"About ready to give up you ugly snake fuck?" Spat the prisoner, displaying an evil grin.

Finally, the mysterious figure came into the light. Well, his head did at least. And the blue dragon was right, it was a snake head that appeared out of the darkness, "You and I, it seems we are meant for each other."

"How so?"

"Well," the snake retracted back into the dark and moved it's coiled body so that the tip of it's tail rested on top of a lever, "I will never give up until I get the information my buyer paid for." His tail pulled sharply on the lever, making it slam to the ground. And activate the electricity gems strapped to the blue dragon's underbelly. He screamed in agony for a few seconds, then the gems were empty of power, "And you, no matter how I hurt you, will never break."

The blue laughed, blood dripping from his mouth, "Why don't you ask me to marry you then?"

The snake cringed, "Always with the joking. Why do you do it? You aren't even that funny! Does it keep you sane? Does it distract you from the hurt? What if I didn't let you say anything? Would you go insane? Maybe then you'd tell me what I want to hear." It slithered through the cell door, closing it with it's tail.

As soon as the snake left, the blue slipped out of his chains (having starved himself till he was skinny enough to slip through), and started to search the cell for some way out. He was weak. Weak beyond imagination. But his sheer will was what forced him onwards, what dragged his dull claws against the ice cold cell walls, what gave him the idea to use his forehead as a battering ram. As he broke through the wall, he roared in victory. But as he regained his vision, he felt his limbs go weak with the sudden loss of about a hundred brain cells. Bleeding from his head, his chest, his mouth, and his wings, the blue dragon made one last futile attempt to move onward in the darkness. He found himself tumbling downwards. Then there was a loud thump, and he finally came to rest on a soft cold patch of grass. The sigh of relief was well deserved.

"Free." 

* * *

><p>Carrie, Katie, and Spenit found themselves walking into a Warfang owned village.<p>

"Okay, I'm pretty sure no one in some random town this far outside of Warfang is going to recognise us, but just in case, we should disguise ourselves," Said Spenit.

They stood just outside the village, Carrie and Katie facing him, while he had his tail to the wall. The gate was open and there were people coming and going, so he kept his voice down. Besides the annoyingness of their small predicament, it was a beautiful sunny day, and the birds were chirping happily.

"And how exactly do you suggest we do that?" Asked Carrie, taking on a confronting stance by shifting her hips slightly and giving him a weird look.

Spenit thought for a bit, then said, "One of us has to go in and buy paint; the rest I'll leave up to your imaginations."

Carrie and Katie looked at each other, then at Spenit, "So who's going to go in there?"

"Well, I'd say Katie cause no one would recognize her, but she's badly hurt. There's me, because it's my plan, but I'd stick out like a sore thumb seeing as I _am_ Spyro's son."

Carrie nodded confidently, "So it's up to me then." She moved closer to Spenit and gave him a kiss.

"Good luck my love," He whispered.

And with that, she disappeared around the corner and into the small town.

"Woah! What was that?" Exclaimed Katie, surprised by the kiss.

Spenit chuckled, "Sorry, we forgot to tell you before. Carrie and I are together." He beamed proudly.

Katie looked disappointed, "Aww... I was just about to hit on you too..."

Suddenly Spenit felt like he was missing out on something. He was about to change his mind, when he remembered what Carrie said, "Just remember who loves you." He snapped out of it immediately. Keeping a stern look about him, he responded properly, "It's okay Katie, I'm sure you'll find somebody some day."

"You really think so?" She pipped up, looking at him with one of the happiest/perkiest faces he had ever seen.

"Definitely! I mean, you're beautiful, you're young, you're strong, and best of all, you've got an amazingly overwhelming sex appeal." He grinned, giving her a wink.

She smiled shyly, "Thanks Spenit."

"Hey no problem."

"So what is it about Carrie that makes you choose her over me?"

Spenit grimaced, "Fuck... She just _had_ to come at me with one of _those_ questions." He thought. The nervous male quickly came up with something, "Well, she's... She's uhh... She's been with me longer."

Katie just stood there staring at Spenit blankly for a few seconds, then said, "So there's no difference then. Well have you two mated yet?" Spenit replied with a quick shake of the head, "Good, so that means I still have a chance."

He sighed, shaking his head while the happy female turned away from him and started to silently sing a cheerful song to herself.


	7. Mere Imagination

**Mere Imagination**

Carrie was glad the village had a hospital. Disappointed by the size of it, and the state that it was in. But glad, nonetheless. She entered the small wooden building through the front door, and was immediately met by the smell of dead and rotting flesh, "Oh gross!" She shrieked, wrinkling up her nose and covering it with a paw in disgust.

"Welcome to the smelliest place on earth, can I take your order?" Jokingly asked a young red dragon at the counter.

"Well at least the service is cute." She thought to herself.

Carrie held back a sudden feeling of shyness and the urge to smile coyly as she told him about her friend outside who needed medical attention. He nodded and replied with, "Sure, bring her in. It'll cost about... Hmm... Broken wing costs..." He looked under the counter for a bit, then looked back at her and said with a smile on his face, "Ten gems."

"Oh, but she doesn't only have a broken wing." Carrie added quickly, "That's just the biggest problem."

"Okay then, just bring her here, and we'll see what we can do. We'll charge you afterwards."

"Thanks!" She couldn't hold back the smile any longer. It poked through just after she said thanks. Carrie noticed, and quickly turned around and ran/walked out the door. The red dragon just smiled and shook his head.

"Okay, now all I need is paint. Where do I get paint in a town like this?" She looked around in despair at all of the buildings in the town square, "Weapons, armor, food, clothing, house supplies... That's it! House supplies must have paint right!" A couple walked past staring at her for talking to herself. She just stared back.

Once she was inside the store, the orange dragoness spared no time in heading for the aisle marked "Paint". When she got there, her perky attitude was instantly flushed down the toilet. Every bucket of paint they had, was marked toxic. How on earth could paint be toxic to dragons! They have _scales_ for god's sake! It was at the end of the aisle that she finally found what she was looking for. Three buckets of non-toxic, house paint. Only problem was, it advertised the source directly on the front, "Made from pure dragon scales... Is it morally wrong to wear someone else's scales?" She thought to herself. After a bit of inner debating, she shrugged and grabbed all three.

She walked up the salesman, an ugly, over-sized, overweight bear dressed in nothing but a purple vest. He looked at her and smiled the most fake smile you could ever imagine, "Yessss?"

Carrie let the three cans of paint drop from her mouth, "How much?"

"Hmm..." He looked them over, then said in a happy tone, "Five hundred gems."

The orange dragoness was taken aback, "That's not a fair price at all!"

The bear laughed cruelly, "That's business my dear!"

She snorted angrily, spouting a bit of flame. Then reached into her wing-pit and brought out a handful of gems, "That's as much as you get. Ask for anymore and you'll be less than half your size by the time I'm done with you."

It looked at her sideways, probably trying to find out if she was bluffing or not, "Fine. But don't expect such leniency next time."

She fake-smiled and walked outside with the cans of paint dangling from her mouth. 

* * *

><p>Spenit stood there feeling awkward, while Katie just sat on her haunches with a gigantic grin on her face, "What's got you so happy?" Asked Carrie after she placed the cans of paint on the ground in front of them.<p>

"Oh nothing..." She trailed off, still smiling.

Carrie gave her a weird look, then turned to Spenit, "I got the paint. There's three colors, red, blue, and green."

"Good work Carrie. I'll take the red."

His compliment made her smile as she handed him the red paint, "And how about you smiley?" She asked Katie.

The white dragoness stopped smiling and replied, "Hmm... I guess I'll take the Blue."

"And so, that leaves me with green." She walked up to Spenit and nuzzled him, "I'll wear your color with pride darling."

Spenit blushed.

Once they were all coated in the stickyness, the three dragons made their way into the town and towards the mini-hospital. It wasn't until they stepped through the door, that Carrie realized she had made the reservation as an orange dragoness, "Hello, what would you like?" Asked the "cute" red at the counter.

"Uh... Hello again, this is my friend with the broken wing." She said, her voice shaking with nervousness.

He looked at her curiously, "Weren't you orange the first time you came in here?"

She said the first thing that came to mind, "Nope!"

Spenit face-pawed.

"Alrighty then. Hurt dragoness, what is your name?"

Katie replied in a cheerful voice, "Katie." It was okay for her to use her real name, since no one would recognize it.

The orderly nodded, then looked at the red dragon, "And your's?"

"Flame." It was the only red dragon name he knew. Spyro's old best friend. It seemed fitting somehow.

"And finally, you." He looked at Carrie.

"Terri." She grinned, hoping it didn't sound too fake.

The red nodded, "Okay, I have you all written down. The hurt one can follow me, the rest of you wait out here."

Katie nodded and followed the red male.

Carrie and Spenit lay down beside each other in the waiting area. It had been a while since they were this close, so Spenit thought he might as well take advantage of the moment. He slowly moved his tail over to her's, and began to wrap it around. She caught on to what he was doing, and nestled her head on his shoulder, "I hope she isn't hurt to bad." Said Carrie.

Spenit couldn't nod, so he just said, "Yeah, me too." Then, almost out of instinct, their paws found each other. The whole scene was _very_ romantic. 

* * *

><p>"Are... Are you okay my queen?" Asked the unsure, timid voice of Drane after entering Cynder's room and finding her bawling her eyes out on her bed.<p>

She looked up, wiped the tears from her eyes and nodded, "Yeah. Yeah I'm fine."

Drane shook his head, "No. You don't look anything close to fine." He walked over to her bed, and lay down beside her, placing a wing over her back, "Is it Spyro?"

She nodded, looking like she was about to start crying again, "I miss him... So much."

He at her with pity in his eyes, "I'm sure no one could ever understand the feeling of loss you are experiencing right now. But I could try."

Cynder looked at him, blinked, and thought to herself, "What've you got to lose?" So she confided in him. She told him everything she was feeling, the thoughts going through her head, the horrible darkness lurking in the back of her mind. And he just sat there and listened. It was the nicest thing that anyone had done for her since Spyro's death.

Afterwards, Drane walked her outside for a stroll around the gardens, "I'm so sorry for what I did to you the other day Drane... I- I couldn't stop myself."

"It's okay Cynder, I forgave you a long time ago." He smiled.

She smiled back, "It might be just me... But there is something strangely familiar-"

"Cynder! Cynder! Trouble with the Ractiles!" Interrupted her head advisor as he ran towards her, "They've declared war, your majesty!"

"Damn it." She cursed herself for being so reluctant of her duties. The black dragoness sighed, then looked at Drane, "I'll see you later then?"

He nodded, "When you need me the most."

She turned to her advisor, nodded, then realized the strangeness about what Drane said, so she turned back. He was gone. The look of confusion on her face was evident, so Rugle asked, "Is something wrong m'lady?"

She shook her head, thought for a bit, then replied, "I'm fine, let's go."

Rugle led her to the war room, where all the most powerful generals in Warfang sat around a gigantic table and discussed, quite loudly, what their next actions would be. Cynder sat where Spyro would have, and opened her mind so she could make the proper decisions based on whatever the generals had to say. Rugle sat on his haunches next to her, his head at the usual "I'm-better-then-the-rest-of-you, so-get-over-it" hight. The generals all quieted as they noticed Cynder. Then one of them spoke, "Glad to see you in proper form your majesty. Finally got over your grief I hope."

Cynder wanted to fry him.

"Yes, thank you general. Now could we move on to the matter at hand?"

He nodded, then looked to the dragon next to him, "As my colleague here has pointed out, the Ractiles have recently made obvious movements of war with their front-line defenses."

Cynder interrupted, "Excuse me? Front-line defenses? Why did they have their defenses up in the first place? What were they defending from?"

The general cleared his throat, "Uhm... Us..."

She couldn't believe her ears, "So what you're saying is, we attacked them first!" He responded by nodding quietly, "What on earth gave you the idea that that was a _good_ thing to do?" Everyone in the war room was dead silent. Cynder looked around at them all with a look of horrible disgust, "I'm going over there to solve this conflict peacefully." At that, the black dragoness stood up and left the room. Rugle ran after her like his life depended on it.

"Uh, and how are you going to do that? They'll shoot you down as soon as they catch sight of you!"

She laughed, "Oh Rugle, always the pessimist. I have my ways."

"But m'lady-"

He was cut off at the sound of her wings opening, "Take care of Warfang while I'm gone!" 

* * *

><p>He was bleeding out and he knew it. The blue dragon cringed as he inspected the wound in his side. The bastard snake had known if he escaped that this would happen. It was only a matter of time now, then he'd be dead, and his mission would have been in vain. Then suddenly, like an answer to his prayers, a village became visible in the distance. His hope restored, the blue male soldiered on, determined not to let his king down.<p>

He was about a mile away from the town when he fell unconscious, unable to continue. It must've been his lucky day, because as soon as his world became black, his body was lifted onto the back of another.

"Welcome back to the land of the living." Said a friendly female voice. He opened his eyes and was greeted by a blinding light.

The girl must've noticed his squinting, because she immediately doused most of the light in the room, "Where am I?" Was all he could manage in his weakened state.

The voice responded, "Safe."

He passed out again.


	8. The Blue Dragon

****The Blue Dragon****

"As long as you keep those bandages on at all times, your wounds should heal in about three days." Said the doctor, a yellow dragoness with two brown bags hanging off her sides that were probably full of medical supplies.

"Thank you so much!" Said Katie, a great big smile across her face

Just as the painted dragoness was about to leave, the doctor said, "Oh! Katie, one more thing!"

She turned around, "Huh?"

"While I was operating on you, I noticed that you were covered in paint. Did you know about this or..."

Katie laughed, "Yeah it's fine. Bye!" She exited the room leaving the doctor quite confused. As soon as they caught sight of her, both Spenit and Carrie's faces lit up. She walked over to them, grinning the whole way, "Hello guys. Miss me?"

"How was it?" Asked Carrie, her eyes tracing the white outline of bandages wrapped around Katie's stomach and wing.

The white dragoness shrugged, "It was okay I guess. Hurt at first, but then the doc gave me some kind of medicine that numbed my entire body." She giggled, "I can still feel it in certain places."

Spenit looked past Katie, at a commotion that was brewing in one of the operating rooms. He got up and walked over to the front desk.

"Spenit? Where are you going?" Asked Carrie, following him.

"Excuse me," The red dragon looked up from his paperwork, "Do you happen to know what's going on in there?" Spenit pointed at the room that he was looking at before.

The red nodded, "You must've been asleep when he arrived. It's a blue dragon that some one found in the woods. He was in extreme condition. We had three of our finest doctors working on him from the moment he was set upon the operating table."

Spenit looked back at the crowd of stressed doctors and surgeons. He had a strange urge to push past them and find this wounded blue. Carrie was giving him a weird look, "Um... Spenit darling? What's wrong?"

"Huh?" Her voice snapped him out of his trance. He looked at her, slightly dazed.

"You look hypnotized, what's wrong?"

The male looked back at the crowd, but only for a second for fear of being put in another trance. He forced a smile, "I'm fine, let's get out of here."

Carrie wasn't convinced, but the smell of dead flesh hovering in the infirmary air told her to save the questions for a later date and just get out of there as fast as possible. She, Spenit, and Katie left the building gasping and moaning in ecstasy as clean, fresh air entered their lungs. Once outside of the town, Spenit made plans as to where they were going next, "Carrie, how were you in geography class?"

"Sleepy... Why?"

"Oh, that doesn't help..."

Katie piped up, "I was the best in my class!"

Spenit's eyes lit up, "Okay, so do you know the location of the closest temple?" She nodded happily, "Excellent. Now, after we visit the temple, I'll be heading south a little ways. I've got some business to take care of. While I'm away, you two travel to the next friendly town. I'll catch up to you in three days at the least."

"Why are you going south?" Asked Carrie, moving closer to him.

Spenit wanted to tell her, but it would jeopardize the point of going there alone in the first place, "It's not dangerous my love, you needn't worry." He kissed her cheek, "I just need to talk to some one, you'll see me again soon, I promise."

She hugged him with her wings for a few seconds, then pulled away and nodded, smiling. Katie interrupted their little moment with an alarmed yelp, "Hey! Get off me!" Spenit and Carrie spun around to see a severely wounded blue dragon leaning on Katie, panting heavily. Katie tried to get away from him, but he was too strong, "Let go! Help!" She felt a leathery wing wrap around her mouth, then tighten till she couldn't speak.

"Shhhh..." He whispered into her ear, then looked at the others with threatening eyes, "Don't any of you make a sound or I'll break her neck. Now, into the bushes, they'll be coming soon." All three of them did as they were told, and eventually they heard the sounds of many paw-steps pounding by. Once it was quiet again, the blue let go of Katie and fell to the ground in exhaustion.

Spenit was tempted to kill him while he was down, but something deep inside wouldn't let him. Instead, he turned to the others and asked, "What should we do now?"

Before anyone could reply, they heard a grunt from the wounded blue, "I suggest you continue on with your plan, no sense in dragging me along, I'll only slow you down."

"We never said we were going to bring you along..." Commented Katie with a stern expression.

Carrie, being the soft-hearted one, couldn't help but feel pity for the wounded male. She looked at the others, then at him, "I'll carry him." She said quietly.

Both Spenit and Katie looked at her in shock. The blue grinned from ear to ear. Spenit took a step towards her, "Are you mad? Do you remember what he almost did to Katie?"

She nodded, "He was obviously being chased, maybe he lied just to get us to shut up?"

"Maybe... Maybe not." Spenit glared at the blue dragon, who only smugly smiled back, "Either way, he'll still slow us down."

"I did not realize that we were in a rush." Retorted Carrie, giving Spenit an angry look.

That was the first time she had ever looked at him with anything but love in her eyes. It scared Spenit half to death, "Okay fine. But if he does anything, and I mean _anything_ even remotely suspicious, I will be the one to rip open his throat."

Carrie immediately hugged Spenit tight, making him fill with a warm feeling of goodness, "Thank you Spenit."

Once they were done hugging, Spenit helped the blue onto Carrie's back, and they finally started on their long trek towards the nearest temple.

* * *

><p>"Do you have any idea who I am?" Cynder shouted at a small guard who looked like he was just about to shit himself.<p>

"Yes your majesty, but the king said he won't be having-" He was cut off when Cynder blew a cloud of black smoke in his face from point blank distance. After swallowing nervously, he continued, "Any... Visitors... Today."

The black she-dragon backed up, sat on her haunches, and rolled her eyes, "Isn't there _any_ possible way of getting an audience?"

The pathetic guard nodded, still shaking in fear, "If you are a member of the royal family, or some one is attacking the city and you simply must tell him."

Cynder sighed and turned around. She faced an absolutely massive cityscape, pulsating with life and activity. The Ractile capitol is the largest trading post in the world, and it's all thanks to the destroyer ploughing through the ground and creating a humongous river that circles the entire planet. Since the city was only barely missed by the destroyer, it now stands right by the edge of the water, allowing for excellent dock-age. The only problem with being where it is, is that there is no way to expand since the the only land surrounding the city is extremely fragile volcanic rock. There have been attempts, but every single one has ended in tragedy. So instead of expanding outwards, the king just started building buildings so closely packed that roads became as small as hallways. Then, when they became so crowded that they couldn't build any more buildings, the king declared that they start building upwards off of the pre-existing creations. Now the city is an intensely crowded, extremely tall, column of rock and cement. Everyone flies around now, and just uses holes in the buildings to enter and exit, so no one knows what goes on down below on the old streets of the city. The castle, which Cynder is currently looking away from, was never renovated. It was simply lifted off the ground to match the height of rest of the buildings. Truly a magnificent sight, it's hard to believe that such a warlike people would live here.

The black dragoness looked down. About a thousand feet beneath her, the surface of the earth looked back up at her, shadowed by the towers that sprouted from it's soil. She felt something touch her shoulder and spun around to face it in battle-stance, "Woah! Is that any way to greet a friend?" Laughed Drane.

Cynder immediately resided back into her normal self, "Finally! A friendly face!"

"You said you wanted to get into the castle right?" Cynder nodded happily, "Then follow me." He walked up to the guard and whispered something in his ear.

The guard's expression suddenly brightened. He looked at Cynder and nodded, "Your majesty would like to see the king?"

She looked confused, but went along with it anyway, "Uh, yeah but you said before that I-"

"Come right this way." The guard opened the massive gates and walked through.

The black dragoness had no idea what Drane said to get the guard to let her in, but she had to thank him for it. She turned around just as she set the first paw into the palace to find that Drane was gone, "How odd..." She said to herself before turning and following the guard again.

"Sorry to bother you your powerfulness, but the queen of Warfang wishes to speak with you." The guard bowed before his tyrannical ruler.

Cynder was honestly very intimidated by the king. He was about three times her size, had huge muscles that covered the entire expanse of his body, and was a menacing dark red colour. Oh, and he also stank of sweat and blood. She took a step back just so she could get his entire form into view, and then spoke, "I want to resolve this conflict we have between our kingdoms."

The red dragon grunted, then was silent for a few seconds. He was probably thinking or something. Then he nodded very slowly, saying, "I'm glad you want to resolve this peacefully, our troops are needed elsewhere anyway."

She was intrigued, "Some one else attacking you?"

The king shook his head, equally as slow as the nod, "More like, a sudden outbreak of vicious animals that require subduing. A mysterious force of black dragons has been pouring out of the mountains lately. We're holding them back successfully at the moment, but I don't know how long we'll last if we have to fight two enemies at once."

"How about as a sign of our friendship, I help you defend yourselves with some extra troops and supplies?" Offered Cynder, raising an eye-ridge curiously.

The king shook his head, equally as slow as the nod, "More like, a sudden outbreak of vicious animals that require subduing. A mysterious force of black dragons has been pouring out of the mountains lately. We're holding them back successfully at the moment, but I don't know how long we'll last if we have to fight two enemies at once."

"How about as a sign of our friendship, I help you defend yourselves with some extra troops and supplies?" Offered Cynder, raising an eye-ridge curiously.

The king's casual and laid-back demeanour faded a bit as his diplomatic juices started flowing. He thought about her offer for a good three minutes, then answered with great pride, "I would accept your offer, queen of Warfang, and thus binding our two kingdoms in peace for at least another two years." He then held out his tail in a sign of agreement.

Cynder dittoed him, wrapping her tail around his, then shaking it like a human would shake another humans hand. As she walked out of the palace, she thought to herself, _"That went surprisingly well, I think. My advisers will be proud."_

* * *

><p>The black dragoness set down in the courtyard and was instantly met by three guards led by Rugle, "Your majesty." He greeted her.<p>

She nodded politely, "I have resolved the conflict with the Ractiles, in exchange that we help them in their efforts to repel a threat to their cities. Have the legion commanders send their expendables to the Ractile capitol to meet with their king, he will be expecting them."

Rugle bowed and hurried off, but the three guards stayed with her. She started at a quick trot down the hall toward her bed chambers; the guards following her the entire way. When she finally got to her door, she turned to them and ordered them to leave. But instead of going into her room, she morphed into a shadow on the floor and slid out the window. Once she was a good ways into the forest, she turned back into a dragoness and stretched her wings, _"Always gives me cramps."_ She complained to herself. Absolutely sure that no one was following her, Cynder started running. The running, she felt, set her free. She needed this every once and a while to relieve her of the stress of the day, since Spyro was no longer around to do it. The thought of Spyro made her run in certain direction. The place where he was buried.

She gradually slowed to a stop as she neared the headstone. She felt every bone in her body go limp as she read out loud the name at the top, and the words below it, "Spyro, Our saviour and king." Memories flooded her mind, blocking out everything around her, and forcing her to the ground with forceful hand. As the terror of the skies sobbed like a hatchling, some one approached from behind.

"When a dragon dies, he does not truly leave this world. His spirit lives on, binding itself with nature, offering hope for the future."

Hoping for the best, Cynder slowly turned her head around. Unfortunately, all she got was Drane. For a couple seconds, she was disappointed. Then she realized something, "Hey... Spyro was the only one who ever heard that quote. How do you know it?"

The green dragon moved so that he was beside her, and looked down on the grave, "How long has it been since he died?"

Now Cynder was really suspicious. She stood up and glared at Drane, "You're avoiding my question."

Cynder watched the edges of Drane's mouth slowly curve upwards, "I'll let you figure that one out for yourself." He turned his head and looked at her, an obvious grin of slyness on his face that annoyed the black dragoness like a thorn in her flank.

"Why not just tell me right now?" She whined, sounding like a little dragonette denied something of interest.

The green dragon did not reply, just stood up and walked away. Cynder wanted to follow him, but her legs wouldn't move, almost as if they were glued to the ground. Once he had completely disappeared behind a bush, her limbs freed and she dashed in his direction. Crashing through the plant-life, she was shocked to find an empty grassy field, _"What on earth? Where did he go?"_ Thoroughly confused, the black dragoness decided to head back home and rest her head on her pillow for a few hours. Maybe it would ease the incredible headache she had.

On the way back, she let her thoughts flow freely inside her mind, hoping that maybe things would reveal themselves to her eventually. They never did. She returned to her room still asking questions that needed answering. Cynder lay on her bed of velvet crimson, and fell into an exhausted sleep.

* * *

><p>Spenit, Carrie, Katie, and the mysterious blue dragon walked into the abandoned temple even though they could all tell that something bad had happened there. Maybe it was curiosity that drove them? Maybe stupidity? Either way, they were already to far to turn back now.<p>

"There's blood on the floor!" Exclaimed Carrie, leaping about four feet into the air in fear.

Spenit kept a calm head and approached the slowly drying red liquid. He leaned down and took in a long sniff, "It's fresh. Probably happened last night. Smells like medium-aged male."

Katie watched him with astonishment, "You can tell all that from just smelling it?"

The blue dragon on her shoulder chuckled, "He actually missed something, but I'm impressed." He motioned towards one of the hallways leading away from the grand entrance, "The dragon who lost this blood headed down that way."

Spenit nodded confidently, "Okay everyone, follow me." They headed into the dimly lit hallway with legs shaking in both fear and readiness.

After a few minutes of dead silent eerie walking, the party found themselves in a very dimly lit room. Every one of them had been inside of a temple before, and all temples were built the same, but no one could tell which part of the temple this was. Spenit huddled close to Carrie. It was either out of fear, or an instinctual urge to protect her (I don't know about you, but I'm putting all my money on fear), "I don't like the smell of this place." Said Katie, her nostrils closing up in disgust. Everyone else silently agreed.

Just then, there was a massive blast from behind them, and their only source of light was doused in one terrible crash! The hallway was barricaded with rubble, so there was obviously no turning back now. The three teens were scared for their lives. The one adult in their party was alert and ready. For what seemed like the longest seconds in their entire lives, the dragons stood solidified with fear. Eventually their nerve came back, and they were able to move again, "What just happened?" Whispered Spenit.

"Some one planted a trap, and we just walked in and sprung it wide open." Replied the blue dragon, "The only thing that's surprised me so far, is that we weren't attacked right when the blast went off. It either means we're meant to proceed further because they've got something even worse up ahead, or that there's no other way out and we've just been trapped."

Carrie held close to Spenit, "Let's hope it's the former eh?"

Spenit nodded, then looked around, "It seems we're in some sort of library. There are books all over the walls, but I can't make out the titles since it's to dark in here."

Katie chuckled, "We're dragons silly." And breathed a fire ball onto the nearest torch. It lit up the entire room in an eerie luminescent red glow. A mix of awe and fear washed over the group as bookshelves, lined with hundreds of multicoloured books, appeared all around them.

"It's... It's a library." Stuttered Spenit, slowly looking around with a stunned expression on his face, "We're in a library."


End file.
